69 Responses

I would have voted for Rachel, but I wouldn’t mind if Zenyatta won because I think Zenyatta was the best “overall” for 2008 and 2009 (if they could have a “Horse of two years” award. However, here is a video explaining why I would have liked Rachel to win:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NZKfqvbgoag
Maybe she won’t win, but she’s darling to me!

Not surprising. Zenyatta already leads with huge margins in the following polls: Daily Racing Form, Thoroughbred Times (voting from over 40 states and 29 countries), Bloodhorse, HRTV, TVG, Horseracinginsider, The Sporting News, Facebook (all time leader over Sea The Stars, Seabiscuit, Secretariat) CBSSports, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, and on and on…

What horse-shit! Last time they had a popularity poll, SERENA WILLIAMS became the SPORTSMAN OF THE YEAR. As if Roger Federer, Usain Bolt, or even Tiger Woods, were not there. Crazy, crazy world!! I, for one, don’t believe in the CREDIBILITY of these polls. Next thing you know, they are voting JENNIFER LOPEZ as best dramatic actress of 2009!

One thing I do believe: TIME MAGAZINE included Rachel Alexandra’s Preakness win as one of the TOP TEN BEST SPORTS MOMENTS OF 2009. Now that is a REAL HONOR!! Time Magazine is the same one that gives away the PERSON OF THE YEAR award annually to international personalities.

I believe RACHEL ALEXANDRA will win this HOY 2009 award. The Eclipse awards is NOT decided by pollsters who vote on a whim. Hopefully, more SANE individuals vote in the Eclipse awards, so we might get a winner who is truly deserving. and in this case, no other horse is MORE DESERVING than Rachel, coz she really WORKED HARD to get this award. She didn’t go from bust to BOOM with just ONE BIG RACE like Zenyatta. She ran the GAUNTLET, running non-stop from state to state, winning every race, whether against male or female horses. This is what the old folks used to call TENACITY. I thought it died with DAMASCUS or DR. FAGER a long time ago… apparently, it did not. It lives on with Rachel Alexandra.

Tim–I vote for Rachel!!! I saw her run at the Mother Goose and the Woodward and definitely think she should be HOY. She is also the only horse in the history of the Preakness, male or female, who ever won from post position 13. Zenyatta is amazing and I love her little “dances” but her campaign this year was not as challenging except for the Breeder’s and that is only one race.

Zenyatta is an amazing horse, but her failure to race outside California and race in the same 4 races she raced in last year this year…make the only distinguishing event in her record this year her spectacular victory in the Breeders Cup Classic.

Horse of the Year is not a one race award…but an entire year award.

The three year old filly Rachel Alexandra raced 8 races in seven months…

The massive 17 hand five year old mare Zenyatta raced 5 races in seven months.

Rachel raced at Churchill Downs in the slop in the Kentucky Oaks. Zenyatta scratched in her race there because of a sealed track.

Rachel raced out of her division three times.

Zenyatta raced out of her division once.

Rachel won 8 stakes races.

Zenyatta won 5 stakes races.

Rachel won 5 Grade I races. Zenyatta 4 Grade I races.

Rachel recorded the highest BSF of the year at 116, tied for the 5th highest, tied for the 7th highest and tied for 8th highest BSFs twice. Zenyatta recorded the 4th highest BSF of the year.

Rachel’s race record this year will likely never be duplicated…

Life Is Sweet could easily duplicate Zenyatta’s record with the exception of the Classic win…and Rachel may do that next year if she stays healthy.

Rachel made history in seven of eight races…Zenyatta in one…and another with her career mark…which does not factor into single year events…for HOTY…

Boy,then most of the people on here either have a hard time reading or comprehending. No rational observer could look at the accomplishments on paper and come to any other conclusion than RA being horse of the year. I am heartened by the thought that those that will actually vote for Horse of the Year will have no problem reading or comprehending their past performances.

Zenyatta,
Just the fact that TIME magazine has said anything makes me go the other way. Pasturelands – how can you say Zenyatta went from bust to boom in one race – look at her records. When the opportunity arose – Rachel backed down (or her handlers) Zenyatta rose and stayed on top to any challenge. Your right about the credibility of these polls – just listen to yourself – I wouldn’t believe it either.

For those who put the people down with their polls and belittle them in favor of the elitist writers who will actually vote – I have some news for them. In the recent AP Female Athlete of the Year vote it was the sport editors of the nations newspapers that voted Zenyatta ahead of Rachel Alexander. I guess that just leaves yourself in this debate.

Tim:
I believe some people were voting more than once using different email addresses.
Look at the times of the posted blogs. All of a sudden you see 3 or 4 votes minutes apart for Zenyatta, than nothing for extended periods or normal spacing, then 3 in a row again.
Very suspicious trends in that blog’s posting times.

Either way, I’m willing to wager on RA with anyone who is so sure Zenyatta will get HOTY. Somehow, I don’t expect any takers!

Manny T:
says:
“In the recent AP Female Athlete of the Year vote it was the sport editors of the nations newspapers that voted Zenyatta ahead of Rachel Alexander”.
And Rachel Alexandra was the only horse in recent memory to make TIME’S “Top Ten Sports Moments of the Year” released a few weeks ago.
Zen’s BC did not crack the top Ten.
So what does this all mean? NOTHING!
The only poll that counts will be in 11 days.

I’m furious and disheartened that the powers that be have forced a “show down” that encourages this sort of argument, when BOTH are sensational and deserve the award. That said, I think it would be a slightly worse injustice if Rachel didn’t get it-after all, she beat the boys three times and in incredible fashion-on the front end all the way. But Zenyatta is magic and I will be unhappy with either outcome.

By the way, some people abstained or wrote in both names because they thought it was a travesty to have to chose one.

RA fans and Zenyatta fans:
I asked Steve Haskins on BloodHorse.com,
Did the Eclipse voting have to go by 1.) Body of work. 2.) Emotions 3.) Or any standard that had to be followed?
Steve said, The voters can vote anyway they want too. It can be on Emotions or Body of Work, it does not matter, they do not have to vote any certain way.
Just wanted to say that it isn’t “etched in stone” a certain criterior they vote by.

I don’t know about you RA fans, but it won’t hurt my feelings if RA gets the HOTY, they left off her owner and jock, so I don’t care if she gets the award now. I can’t see giving JJ an award for snubbing the BCC and buying a horse in the middle of a year and racing her only four times and thinking he deserves a “Owner of a Year” award.

Hey AJ, why don’t you put your money where your mouth is and bet RA at Wynn’s in Vegas. He was offering 3-1 on RA, and 1-3 on Z. And, by the way, I did hear of a few passionate Z fans that they were actually planning to plunk down a few hundred on RA (not that they liked her to win) but just in case Z loses they will only have a broken heart but their pockets will be lined with C notes…

Just a reminder of what the award is, “Horse of The Year” NOT HORSE OF THE DAY. Is Zenyatta a nice mare? Yes, without question. Is she Horse of the year? Absolutely not! The unbeaten record against the girls is nice, but if that gets you horse of the year than there was a horse out of the south 2years back that was undefeated in over 17 starts and broke Cigars N.A. record for consecutive wins. SHE wasn’t horse of the year or even on the ballet. Zenyatta ran an exciting race and beat several nice horses, a broke down European in Rip Van Winkle, a worn out, seen better days Einstein, and a nice 3 yr old Belmont Stakes winner Summer Bird,(that Rachel destroyed by more than 6 lengths, nearly breaking Spend A Bucks 25 yr old track record). The question to ask is: If the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th place finishers from the Breeder’s Cup Classic had won the race, would they win Horse of The Year honors against Rachel? No! They likely wouldn’t even be on the ballet and definitely wouldn’t have a chance.

So how and or why should Zenyatta, who stayed in CA the entire year, running average races against the girls, winning by heads, necks and minor unimpressive margins in equally unimpressive times compete with the accomplishments of the “Historical” campaign that Rachel Alexandra produced. Rachel broke stakes records set by Champions such as Ruffian and nearly broke the records of Secretariat and Spend A Buck set over 30 yrs ago, while being eased a 16th of a mile before the finish! Has Zenyatta even broken a record ever? Could Zenyatta even beat the best fillies in the country on dirt?
And last but not least, has Zenyatta ever run 3/4s of a mile in 109 and gone on to win at 1 1/8 mile or further? Again No! Nor will she ever.
There are many great horses that ran in this country in 2009. Zenyatta unquetionably is special but I assure you that when the “Horse of The Year” award was thought of and created it was done so with the intention of rewarding the horse with the best and most impressive performances throughout the year. Not the best single race.

And with all do respect having 1 start an average of every 2 and a half months isn’t considered a full year of racing either. The Daily Racing Form actually creates a line between races with more than6 weeks between starts and considers that horse coming off of a lay-off in training.

Imagine if the races Zenyatta had won were named The Ogden Phipps, Go For Wand, Personal Ensign, and Beldame. And then she capped an undefeated career with a spectacular win in the BC Classic at Belmont Park. It would take a Triple Crown winner to trump that horse.
Zenyatta was, in essence, the pre-season #1 and defending champ. Under normal guidelines, when the pre-season #1 goes undefeated they’re voted champion. And challengers do not outpoint champions; they have to knock them out.

hey Kurt, the races she ran in were not named that because they are way more prestigious than ANY race she ran in sans the Breeders Cup, she gets credit for that ONLY and that is why she doesn’t REMOTELY deserve HOY, even though she ran against boys, she ran against turf horses and REAL dirt horses, she is a poly princess and nothing more…everyone keeps saying she’d be better on dirt……well, one race in 14 means squat

and as far as last year, she didn’t deserve it then either, the mares she has beaten are less than desirables, her stablemate is the best horse she raced against based on poly, but her stablemate knows her so well and is used to Zen. going by her in workouts that to me is a mute point